Pipe-Conforming Structure

ABSTRACT

The present techniques are directed to systems and methods for forming a pipe-conforming structure. The pipe-conforming structure includes a polymer material and one or more optic fibers embedded within the polymer material. The polymer material is formed into a structure that is conformed to the shape of a pipe. A method includes forming a polymer material into a structure including an edge region and a center region. The center region has a greater thickness than the edge region. The method includes inserting one or more optic fibers into the polymer material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/019,313, filed Jun. 30, 2014, entitled PIPE-CONFORMING STRUCTURE, theentirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a pipe-conforming structure.More specifically, the present disclosure provides a pipe-conformingstructure to reduce fiber optic cable damage and to reduce pipe-layingvessel modifications.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, whichmay be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present techniques.This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework tofacilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the presenttechniques. Accordingly, it should be understood that this sectionshould be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of priorart.

The assessment of pipelines in a production facility is an importantaspect related to maintenance and operational concerns. Pipelinefailures and other integrity issues may have an impact on productioncapacity, operational costs, and environmental factors, among otherissues. Internal and external issues, such as material defects, externaldamage, or intrusions, may be the cause of integrity failures.

Visual inspection of a pipeline is one technique used to search for theexistence of integrity failures. The visual inspection may includeobserving visible features, such as cracks, in the pipeline that mayindicate potential distress or existing damage. Visual inspection mayrequire an understanding of the type of cracks that may occur duringnormal operations as opposed to the type of cracks that may indicatepre-stress or distress in the pipeline. Thus, an experienced person whois accustomed to determining whether an issue is caused by normal wearor an integrity failure may conduct a visual inspection.

If visual inspection and/or monitoring is not feasible, or would beproblematic for other reasons, the presence of an integrity failure maybe identified by the use of fiber optic technology, among other methods.For example, fiber optic probes may be driven into the soil near thelocation of the pipeline, attached to the pipeline, or placed adjacentto the pipeline for the detection of integrity failures associated withthe pipeline.

For pipelines in an offshore environment, such as in offshore oil andgas production, fiber optic cables may be attached to the pipeline tomonitor for structural or functional issues associated with thepipeline. The fiber optic cable may be deployed during installation of apipeline or deployed after the installation of the pipeline. Usingtemperature/acoustic vibrations sensing techniques, the fiber opticcable may detect leakage, ground movement, spans, and intrusions uponthe pipeline. However, fiber optic cables may easily be damaged duringthe installation or placement of a pipeline.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment described herein provides a pipe-conformingstructure. The pipe-conforming structure includes a polymer material,wherein the polymer material is formed into a structure that isconformed to the shape of a pipe. The pipe-conforming structure alsoincludes one or more optic fibers embedded within the polymer material.

Another exemplary embodiment provides a method for forming apipe-conforming structure. The method includes forming a polymermaterial into a structure including an edge region and a center region,wherein the center region has a greater thickness than the edge region.The method also includes inserting one or more optic fibers into thepolymer material.

Another exemplary embodiment provides a method for installing apipe-conforming structure on a pipeline. The method includes disposingthe pipe-conforming structure along an external length of the pipeline.The method also includes conforming the pipe-conforming structure to theshape of the pipeline and attaching the pipe-conforming structure to thepipeline.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of the present techniques are better understood byreferring to the following detailed description and the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a pipe-laying vessel including a cableinstallation station;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pipe-conforming structure attachedto a bottom position of a pipeline;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lower pipe-conforming structureattached to a bottom of a pipeline and an upper pipe-conformingstructure attached to a top of the pipeline;

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a thin polymer structure;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a pipe-conforming structure afterinstallation on a pipeline;

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of a method of forming apipe-conforming structure; and

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram of a method of installing apipe-conforming structure on a pipeline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description section, specific embodiments ofthe present techniques are described. However, to the extent that thefollowing description is specific to a particular embodiment or aparticular use of the present techniques, this is intended to be forexemplary purposes only and simply provides a description of theexemplary embodiments. Accordingly, the techniques are not limited tothe specific embodiments described below, but rather, include allalternatives, modifications, and equivalents falling within the truespirit and scope of the appended claims.

A pipe-laying vessel may be used in the construction of subseainfrastructure including pipelines for oil and natural gas developments,undersea geology, and underwater mining, among others. For oil andnatural gas developments, the pipe-laying vessel may be used as alanding vessel for the assembly of pipes and later for the laying of apipeline on the seabed or embedding the pipeline into the seabed. TheS-lay method and the J-lay are examples of two types of techniques thatcan be implemented on the pipe-laying vessel for laying the pipeline atsubsea levels. The S-lay method lays a suspended pipe from a stinger ofa vessel to the seabed in the shape of an “S” configuration. The S-laymethod may be implemented for laying offshore pipelines in relativelyshallow waters of around 100-200 meters in depth and in deep waters ofup to 2500 meters in depth. The J-lay method deploys a pipelinevertically into the water to form a “J” curve from the surface to theseabed. The J-lay method may be implemented for laying offshorepipelines in deep waters in a range of 400 to 3500 meters in depth.

An attachment station for attaching fiber optic cable to the pipelinebefore it is lowered into the sea may be located on the pipe-layingvessel. The fiber optic cable may be used to monitor the pipeline andthe flow of its contents, leaks, ground movement, temperature changes,vibrations, and soil property changes, among others. The fiber opticcable may be attached near a top position of the pipeline forconvenience of installation. However, other positions of the pipeline,e.g., bottom position of the pipeline or side positions, can be veryuseful from a monitoring standpoint. Attaching fiber optic cableswithout the use of a pipe-conforming structure in other positions can becostly or difficult, for example, requiring modifications to apipe-laying vessel or possibly resulting in damage to the cable orretrofitting of an existing pipeline.

The pipe-laying vessel may include rollers that may be stationed alongvarious points of the pipe-laying vessel, which are used to guide thepipeline and any attached fiber optic cable during assembly andinstallation. In particular, the rollers may restrain, bend, guide, andtransport the pipeline and the fiber optic cable in a longitudinaldirection. Without the pipe-conforming structure, the rollers may comeinto contact with the fiber optic cable during installation, which maydamage the cable. For example, the fiber optic cable may be sensitive topulling, bending, and crushing forces. Any such damage to the fiberoptic cable without the pipe-conforming structure caused by the rollersmay alter its characteristics to the extent that it needs to bereplaced.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a pipe-laying vessel 100 including a cableinstallation station. In particular, the pipe-laying vessel 100 providesan S-lay pipeline installation method for the laying of a pipeline 102.With the S-lay pipeline installation method, the pipeline 102 may bereleased over a stern 104 of the pipe-laying vessel 100 as it movesforward. The pipeline 102 may curve in a downward direction as it leavesthe stern 104 and the pipe-laying vessel 100 to be lowered, for example,to a sea-floor or into a trench. As previously discussed with the S-laymethod, the pipeline 102 may be in the form of an “S” shape as it islaid upon or embedded into the sea floor or trench.

With the S-lay method, a pipeline assembly may be substantiallyfabricated on board the pipe-laying vessel 100, which may include thenecessary equipment required to fabricate the pipeline 102. Inparticular, the pipeline 102 may be initially formed using the pipejoints, which can be assembled in a horizontal working plane and weldedtogether to form the pipeline 102.

During operation, the pipeline 102 may be subjected to moisture,chemicals, and other substances that may affect its integrity, thus,possibly leading to corrosion. To combat the effects of corrosion andother material failures, a protective coating may be applied over thesurface of the pipeline 102. Thus, to protect the integrity of thefabricated pipeline 102, the pipe-laying vessel 100 may also include apipe coating station 108. For example, the pipe coating station 108 mayapply a first coating, e.g., a corrosion coating, and a second coating,e.g., concrete, to reduce any physical damage that may occur during theinstallation of the pipeline and during production operations.

The pipe-laying vessel 100 may include a fiber optic attachment station110 for the attachment of a pipe-conforming structure 112 before theinstallation of the pipeline 102 into the seabed. The fiber opticattachment station 110 may include a reel 114 for the storage andde-spooling of the pipe-conforming structure 112 including one or moreoptic fibers, which fibers may be incorporated in a fiber optic cable.The reel 114 may be configured to release and direct the pipe-conformingstructure 112 to come into contact with the pipeline 102. The fiberoptic attachment station 110 may also be configured to mechanicallyattach the pipe-conforming structure 112 to the pipeline 102 usingvarious physical attachment methods.

The pipe-conforming structure 112 may have a thin convex shape in orderto conform to the shape of the pipeline 102 during attachment. Asopposed to a tubular fiber optic cable, the conforming nature of thepipe-conforming structure may extend over a larger circumference of thepipeline 102 to cover multiple positions during the detection ofintegrity failures.

The thin convex shape of the pipe-conforming structure 112 may eliminatethe need for modifications to a pipe-laying vessel 100. For example,with a tubular fiber optic cable, a stinger 116 of the pipe-layingvessel 100 may require modifications to attach the fiber optic cable tothe bottom of the pipeline. As shown in FIG. 1, the stinger 116 is aslide used to guide the pipeline 102 from a horizontal position aboardthe pipe-laying vessel 100 to a vertical position into the sea. Thestinger 116 may be located near the rear of the pipe-laying vessel 100to support the pipeline 102 and the attached pipe-conforming structure112. Modifications to the stinger 116 may lead to additional costs andinstallation complexities. However, the conforming nature of thepipe-conforming structure 112 may reduce or eliminate modifications tothe stinger 116, as the contoured profile may smoothly pass over currentroller box designs.

The pipe-laying vessel 100 may include roller boxes 118 at variouslocations along the length of the pipeline 102, including near thepipe-conforming structure attachment station 110 and near the locationof the stinger 116. The roller boxes 118 may support the load of thepipeline 102 while on the pipe-laying vessel 100 and during itsinstallation into the seabed. Additionally, the roller boxes 118 locatednear the stinger 116 may aid in controlling of the bend radius for thepipeline 102 as it bends over the pipe-laying vessel 100 and is loweredinto the sea. The roller boxes 118 may also be adapted to receive andsupport the pipe-conforming structure 112 during its attachment to thepipeline 102.

Although the roller boxes 118 may cause damage to a tubular fiber opticcable, the thin convex shape of the pipe-conforming structure 112described herein may withstand the load forces. Thus, damage to theoptic fibers of the pipe-conforming structure 112 may be reduced oreliminated based on its conforming structure.

The use of a pipe-conforming structure that has a smooth, conformingshape is not limited to subsea applications. Any number of on-shoreapplications may also benefit from the pipe-conforming structure, e.g.,a pipe-conforming structure including a fiber optic cable, as discussedherein. The pipe-conforming structure may be especially beneficial forremote or buried pipelines, for which visual inspection is problematic.The use of the pipe-conforming structure has the same advantages foron-shore pipeline equipment, e.g., decreasing the need to modify theequipment for installation of the pipe-conforming structure on thepipeline 102.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pipe-conforming structure 200attached to a bottom position of a pipeline 202. As shown in FIG. 2, thepipeline 202 may be situated upon rollers in roller boxes 204 orientedin a longitudinal direction and configured to support the pipeline 202as it moves along a pipe-laying vessel, as described with respect toFIG. 1. In some embodiments, the rollers may be v-shaped, bi-conical, orany shape to support the pipeline 202. As the pipe-conforming structure200 follows the profile or contour of the pipeline 202, it may rest onthe rollers of the roller boxes 204 without damaging embedded components206, such as optic fibers or fiber optic cables including one or moreoptic fibers. Embedded components 206 that may be useful are discussedfurther with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pipe-conforming structure 200 may be conformedto and attached to the bottom of the pipeline 202. In some embodiments,the pipe-conforming structure 200 may be attached using an attachmentstructure which may include an adhesive, a tape, one or more straps, orany combination of attachment methods to securely attach it to thepipeline 202. For example, the pipe-conforming structure 200 may beattached to the pipeline by a layer of epoxy, or other thermoset resin,placed between the pipeline and the pipe-conforming structure 200. Othertypes of adhesives may also be used, for example, a molten polymer,e.g., a hot melt adhesive, may be used to adhere the pipe-conformingstructure 200 to the pipeline. The selection of an adhesive may be basedon the coatings used on the pipeline. For example, if the outermostcoating is an epoxy layer, then an epoxy based adhesive may becompatible. Similarly, a tape-based adhesive system, such as adouble-sided tape, a solvent activated tape, a heat activated tape, orother tape systems may be used.

In some embodiments, other systems may be more useful for holding thepipe-conforming structure 200 to the pipeline 202. For example, aconcrete coating over a pipeline 200 may make adhesion more problematic.A physical system may be used to hold the pipe-conforming structure 200in place. The physical system may be based on straps installed atintervals that hold the pipe-conforming structure 200 to the pipeline202.

The conforming nature of the pipe-conforming structure 200 may eliminatethe need to make modifications to a pipe-laying vessel, such as apipe-construction barge or on-shore pipe-laying equipment. Specifically,the pipe-conforming structure 200 may be configured into a particularshape so as conform to the shape of the pipeline 202. Accordingly, thepipe-conforming structure 200 may move over the rollers of the rollerboxes 204 without damage. In particular, the thin convex shape of thepipe-conforming structure 200 can allow it to move over the rollers ofthe roller boxes 204 without bending or flexing that may causefunctional damage to the embedded components 206.

In contrast to a single, tubular fiber optic cable, a pipe-conformingstructure 200 mounted along the bottom of a pipeline 202 may allow forthe detection of integrity failures along the sides of the pipeline 202located in proximity to the bottom. This may occur since the shape ofthe pipe-conforming structure 200 covers a greater portion, or an arc208 of the circumference of the pipeline 202, than a tubular fiber opticcable. In particular, the arc 208 of the pipeline 202 covered by thepipe-conforming structure 200 may cover an angle of the pipecircumference of between 30° and 180°, for example 100°, 120°, 160°, ormore. Overall, the pipe-conforming structure 200 may enable monitoringthe pipeline 202 across a large arc, thus enhancing the possibility ofidentifying integrity issues.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lower pipe-conforming structure200 and an upper pipe-conforming structure 300 attached to a bottom anda top of a pipeline 202. Like numbers are as described with respect toFIG. 2. In some embodiments, only the upper pipe-conforming structure300 may be attached to the top position of the pipeline 202.

The upper pipe-conforming structure 300, situated around an upper arc302 of the circumference of the pipeline 202, may be used to monitorpositions in close proximity to the top of the pipeline 202.Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, a lower pipe-conforming structure 200may be located near the bottom of the pipeline 202. This may facilitatethe detection of leaks near the bottom and the positions in closeproximity to the bottom. Thus, the conforming nature of the lower andupper pipe-conforming structures 200, 300 may eliminate the need toprovide multiple separate fiber optic cables along various positions ofthe pipeline 202. Instead, the lower and upper pipe-conformingstructures 200, 300 may cover enough of the circumference of thepipeline 202 to, for example, detect integrity failures at the top andbottom of the pipeline 202 and at positions there between. Theupper-conforming structure 300 may also be used for monitoring ofonshore or offshore vintage pipelines by easily gluing the conformingcable structure 300 to the pipeline 202. This may avoid the need to liftthe existing pipelines as required for the case when strapping a tubularcable structure to a pipeline.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a thin polymer structure 400. FIG.4B is a cross-sectional view of a pipe-conforming structure 401 afterinstallation on a pipeline 202. Like number items are as discussed withrespect to FIG. 3.

As described herein, the pipe-conforming structure 401 may be formedfrom a polymer. The polymer material may include a high-densitypolyethylene (HDPE), a polyurethane, a polyamide, a polyvinyl chloride,a polyamide, or any number of other polymers. Since the use of a polymermay provide flexibility, the pipe-conforming structure 401 may beconfigured to conform to the shape of a pipeline. For example, thepipe-conforming structure 401 may be capable of conforming generally tothe shape of the pipeline 202.

The pipe-conforming structure 401 may be formed using an extrusionmethod, such as pultrusion molding, as will be discussed in greaterdetail with respect to FIG. 5. The pultrusion molding technique may forma high-strength polymer material into a defined shape, such as the thinpolymer structure 400, as shown in FIG. 4A. The structure may form asmooth, convex polymer structure 402 when it is conformed and attachedto the pipeline via an attachment structure 421 such as an adhesive, asshown in FIG. 4B. During the extrusion, various items, such as one ormore optic fibers included within a fiber optic cable 404 may beembedded within the length of the thin polymer structure 400. Asdescribed, the fiber optic cables 404 may be used to monitor a pipeline,for example, to monitor flow through the pipeline, integrity of thepipeline, and the like. Moreover, the polymer may act to protect thefiber optic cables 404 from environmental factors including seawater,corrosive fluids, or organisms, among others.

In addition to the fiber optic cables 404, other components may beembedded in the thin polymer structure 400 to aid in its structuralintegrity and capabilities. For example, the thin polymer structure 400may include metal reinforcements 406, e.g., steel cables, to increasecrack resistance, tensile strength, and stiffness.

Further, tubes 408, or any type of conduit for the flow of fluids, maybe embedded in the thin polymer structure 400. For example, the tubes408 may carry a heating fluid to heat or cool the pipeline to which thepipe-conforming structure 401 may be attached. This may be useful forcontrolling the formation of gas hydrates or assisting with other flowproblems. In some embodiments, channels in the thin polymer structure400 may be used as the tubes 408 for carrying fluid, reducing the needto install other conduits.

Additionally, electrical lines 410 may be embedded within the thinpolymer structure 400. The electrical lines 410 may perform a number offunctions. For example, the electrical lines 410 may be used to providepower to units along the pipeline, such as optical sensors. Theelectrical lines 410 may also provide communications between units, inaddition to, or instead of, using the fiber optic cables. Further, theelectrical lines 410 may be resistance lines that act as a heat sourcefor the pipeline. For example, the electrical lines 410 may replace heatlost to the environment to aid in temperature stabilization or to melthydrates. Accordingly, the thin convex polymer structure 400, along withany embedded components, make up the pipe-conforming structure 401 ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of a method of forming apipe-conforming structure. An extrusion method may be utilized to formthe pipe-conforming structure. The extrusion method may include thecontinuous shaping of a high-strength polymer using a die or mold tocreate a structure with a fixed cross-sectional profile. At block 502, apolymer material may be formed into a structure with a defined shape.For example, the present techniques may utilize a profile extrusiontechnique, such as pultrusion molding.

A pultrusion molding processing may involve extruding the polymer into aheated die, while evenly pulling a formed structure from the heated die.To form a structure, the pultrusion die may flow a melted plastic arounddie inserts to form channels in the die. Additionally, channels in thedie may flow melted plastic directly around fiber optics, metal cables,tubes, electrical lines, and the like, to directly embed thesecomponents into the structure. The die may be configured to form themelted plastic into a particular shape as desired by the user, such asthe shape shown in FIG. 4A. For example, the die may form the meltedplastic into a shape with a center region 415 having a greater thickness(when viewed in cross-section) than the edge regions 413 that, whenconformed to a pipeline, forms a thin convex structure. In certainembodiments, the maximum thickness of the center region 415 may be atmost 30 mm or at most 25 mm or at most 15 mm (when viewed incross-section). In certain embodiments, the pipe-conforming structuremay be convex in shape, tapering in thickness in the edge region suchthat the edges of the pipe-conforming structure provide a substantiallysmooth transition with the pipewall. The pultrusion molding techniquemay supply a substantial degree of dimensional control while producing acontinuous length with constant cross-sections along the length. Atblock 504, any remaining components not inserted during extrusion, suchas optical fibers, may be inserted into channels molded in the polymerto create the pipe-conforming structure.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram of a method of installing apipe-conforming structure on a pipeline. The pipe-conforming structuremay be used in conjunction with various applications, for example,during the production of hydrocarbons. At block 602, the pipe-conformingstructure may be disposed along an external length of a pipeline. Thepipe-conforming structure may be installed during pipeline fabricationand installation, or the pipe-conforming structure may be added toexisting pipelines. At block 604, the pipe-conforming structure may beconformed to the shape of the pipeline. Through the use of a polymer,the pipe-conforming structure may exhibit certain properties thatfacilitate a degree of flexibility and conformity to accommodate theparticular dimensions of the pipeline. After placing the pipe-conformingstructure in proximity to the pipeline, at block 606, thepipe-conforming structure may be attached to the pipeline, for example,using the techniques discussed with respect to FIG. 2.

Fiber optic cables may be used to detect and locate pipeline integrityfailures or monitor flow conditions for problems. However, tubulardesigns for fiber optic cables may lead to a number of problems duringinstallation and may overlook issues located away from the tubular cableon the circumference of a pipeline. The present techniques provide apipe-conforming cable designed and utilized for the reduction in thenumber of problems, including the reduction of cable damage duringinstallation, the elimination of stinger and pipe-laying vesselmodifications, and increased detection for pipeline integrity failures.

While the present techniques may be susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, the exemplary embodiments discussed above havebeen shown only by way of example. However, it should again beunderstood that the techniques are not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed herein. Indeed, the present techniquesinclude all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents falling withinthe true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pipe-conforming structure, comprising: apolymer material, wherein the polymer material is formed into astructure that is conformed to the shape of a pipe; and one or moreoptic fibers embedded within the polymer material.
 2. Thepipe-conforming structure of claim 1, wherein the polymer material isselected from the group consisting of high-density polyethylene (HDPE),polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyamide, and anycombination thereof.
 3. The pipe-conforming structure of claim 1,comprising metal reinforcements embedded within the polymer material. 4.The pipe-conforming structure of claim 1, comprising tubes embeddedwithin the polymer material, wherein the tubes are configured to flowfluids.
 5. The pipe-conforming structure of claim 1, comprisingelectrical lines embedded within the polymer material.
 6. Thepipe-conforming structure of claim 5, wherein the electrical linesprovide electrical power.
 7. The pipe-conforming structure of claim 1,wherein the pipe-conforming structure is proximate to a top surface ofthe pipe, a bottom surface of the pipe, or a combination thereof.
 8. Thepipe-conforming structure of claim 1, comprising an attachment structureconfigured to hold the pipe-conforming structure proximate to the pipe,wherein the attachment structure is selected from the group consistingof an adhesive layer, a tape layer, a strap, and any combinationthereof.
 9. The pipe-conforming structure of claim 1, wherein thepipe-conforming structure covers an angle of a pipe circumference ofbetween about 30° and about 180°.
 10. A method for forming apipe-conforming structure, the method comprising: forming a polymermaterial into a structure comprising an edge region and a center region,wherein the center region has a greater thickness than the edge region;and inserting one or more optic fibers into the polymer material. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein forming the polymer material comprisesextruding the polymer material using a pultrusion molding technique. 12.The method of claim 11, comprising inserting one or more tubes into thepolymer material during the pultrusion molding technique.
 13. The methodof claim 11, comprising inserting one or more electrical lines into thepolymer material during the pultrusion molding technique.
 14. The methodof claim 11, comprising inserting one or more metal reinforcements intothe polymer material during the pultrusion molding technique.
 15. Amethod for installing a pipe-conforming structure on a pipeline, themethod comprising: disposing the pipe-conforming structure along anexternal length of the pipeline; conforming the pipe-conformingstructure to the shape of the pipeline; and attaching thepipe-conforming structure to the pipeline.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the pipe-conforming structure conforms to the shape of thepipeline during fabrication of the pipeline.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the pipe-conforming structure conforms to the shape of thepipeline after installation of the pipeline.
 18. The method of claim 15,wherein the pipe-conforming structure attaches proximate to the top ofthe pipeline, proximate to the bottom of the pipeline, or a combinationthereof.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the attaching of thepipe-conforming structure comprises using an attachment structureselected from the group consisting of an adhesive layer, a tape layer, astrap, and any combination thereof.
 20. The method of claim 15,comprising laying the pipeline with the attached pipe-conformingstructure from a pipeline construction vessel.